gone
by Insane. Certifiably
Summary: Everything was gone, leaving her standing alone among the ashes of what had once been her life, clutching a metronome. Tag to 3.11


**I just saw the finale, and someone please tell me I was not the only one crying when they found Jinks. I was thinking through and I realized that Claudia has no idea that any of the rest of them are alive, which lead to this.  
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**Do you honestly think I could come up with something as epic as that last episode? You have to admit, it was epic, and that's why it was so sad.**

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><p>She clutched Johann Maelzel's metronome close, clinging to the only thing left of a world that is falling apart at the seams, leaving her standing alone among the ashes of what was once her life. Thoughts ran through her head, jumbled and disjointed.<p>

Everything is gone.

Mrs. Fredrick is dead

The Warehouse is tied to its caretaker.

The Warehouse

Her home

gone

Nothing could have survived that blast.

Pete and Myka and Artie and Steve

Pete

Her big brother

gone

Myka

Her older sister

gone

Artie

Her father figure

gone

Steve

Her friend

Her partner

Hers.

Dead

gone

All gone

Her fingertips dug into the metronome, turning white, she was clutching it so hard. Leena crouched down beside the body of the Warehouse caretaker. The innkeeper seemed reluctant to touch the body, as though making contact would make it real.

Suddenly, she couldn't bear it anymore. The sight of a corpse brought back too many memories. Her legs started up without her telling them to do anything, carrying her through the B&B and out the door. She heard, faintly, Leena calling after her, but that didn't matter.

Everything was gone.

She watched herself climb into Artie's car, carefully setting the metronome on the passenger seat. The car purred to life and she took off out of there.

Everything was gone.

She didn't take the familiar road to the Warehouse. She had no desire to see the ashes of her life. She just drove, only paying enough attention to her surroundings to avoid wrecking.

Everything was gone.

When she started paying attention again, she found herself outside the hanger where his body still lay. She threw the car into park and, grabbing the Artifact, dashed inside, suddenly seized by the fear that he might not be there anymore.

She sprinted across the hanger and threw herself up the stairs, nearly crashing into the wall as she turned into the office. Icy fingers of relief, entwined with a fresh wave of grief, grabbed a hold of her as she rounded the doorway to see him still lying there.

Steve.

He was so still, like a statue rather than flesh and blood. She crossed the room and sank to her knees next to him. She fumbled with the metronome for a moment, searching for an on switch, and then pressed it into his hands, forcing the still fingers to drape over the Artifact.

"Come back," she pleaded. She pulled the needle to one side, hoping that would start it up.

Nothing.

"Bring back Steve Jinks," she ordered, trying again.

Nothing.

"Bring back my partner," she tried, blinking back the tears.

Nothing.

"Bring him back!" she repeated, more forcefully.

Nothing.

"Bring him back, damn you!" she screamed.

Nothing.

He was gone.

Her entire body dropped forward to lean against her partner's cold still form and she let the tears flow freely. "I want him back," she whispered through the sobs, "please bring him back."

She had no idea how long it was before a single word broke through, cutting across the fog that surrounded her and pulling her out of her trance.

"Claud?" His voice was rusty, as if he hadn't spoken in months, rather than hours. Her head shot up so fast, she nearly gave herself whiplash.

"Steve!" she cried. He was blinking rapidly, trying to clear his eyes.

"Wh-?" that was as far as he got before her body once again acted without her telling it to do anything and she leapt into his arms, burying her face into his shoulder and sobbing again, tears of happiness this time.

She could feel the confusion emanating off him in the stiffness of his posture and the jerkiness of his movements, but for now she couldn't care less. One thing had returned to her.

Everything _wasn't_ gone.

He settled back, rubbing soothing circles on her back and murmuring comforting nonsense in her ear, putting aside his curiosity in favor of comforting her.

Once she got over the sheer relief of seeing him alive again and calmed down enough to stop crying, she noticed he was shaking, limbs trembling uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pulling back to survey him for problems.

"Cold," he replied, "it's getting better though. You make an excellent blanket."

She laughed and settled back, resting her head on his shoulder. "So, Jinksie, what do you remember?" she asked softly.

"Marcus stabbing me," he responded after a moment's thought, "then it all went black and I woke up to you throwing yourself at me." "I did wake up, right?" he asked suddenly, as if just coming to this conclusion.

She bit her lip, and that was answer enough. He stood up, setting her on her feet gently and began to pace the office, shaking out stiff muscles as he did so.

"Steve, I had to," she insisted.

"You used an Artifact!" he accused.

"I had to," she repeated, "I couldn't lose you."

"All Artifacts have consequences, do you even know what that one does?" he asked.

She shook her head. Then quickly cut him off before he could say anything else. "Marcus used it for who knows how long and he didn't seem to have anything wrong with him," she pleaded, "I couldn't lose you."

"You have to undo it," he said, ceasing his pacing to stand in front of her.

"No," she said, tears threatening again, "no, I can't. You're all I have left."

"What?" he asked, taken aback.

"The Warehouse, Artie, Pete, Myka, they're all gone," she explained quickly, words pouring out of her mouth, "I can't send you back. I can't lose you too."

"What happened?" Jinks asked.

"Sykes set off an Artifact style nuclear bomb in the Warehouse," she said, "We felt the blast all the way at Leena's. Mrs. F collapsed on the floor and shriveled up and that's when I knew they were all gone."

"Wait, the Warehouse is gone?" he repeated disbelievingly.

She nodded. "So you can't go, see?"

He nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "Come here," he offered, spreading his arms.

She took his offer, hugging him fiercely. "We'll figure something out," he told her.

Inwardly, she was relieved that he didn't say everything would be alright, because it wasn't. She was better, but she was still on the other side of the world from alright.

It would be a long time before she was alright.

But she had her partner back.

Not _everything_ was gone.

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><p><strong>Jinks must come back next season! In the pocket watch we trust!<br>**


End file.
